Birdstrike involving MAS flight reported days before Hornet crash, says Air Force Chief

KUANTAN: A commercial flight had reported a birdstrike incident just three days before a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet crashed in Kuantan last month, RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Muhamad Norazlan Aris said.

He said the earlier incident involved a Malaysia Airlines aircraft.

"In that case, the bird was smaller and the aircraft's engines were larger, so it did not result in any major issues. But with smaller fighter jet engines, a large bird can be very dangerous," he told reporters at a press conference on the preliminary findings of the Hornet crash last month.

He earlier said that the Aug 21 crash was caused by a birdstrike, with the board of inquiry's preliminary report concluding that the jet's left engine failed after a large bird was ingested during take-off.

He said bird activity near runways and airbases was a challenge faced worldwide, with the level of threat often depending on the bird species and flight conditions.

"This is not something new. Birdstrikes happen every year in aviation. What makes the difference is the aircraft involved, the type of engine and the type of bird. The risk will always be there," he said.

Norazlan added that the RMAF would continue to enforce bird control measures around airbases, but acknowledged that the risk was particularly difficult to manage at night when visibility was low.

"In this case, a bird tannoy had already been used to clear the area. The runway must be completely clear before an aircraft can take off, and there is usually a small time gap between the dispersal and take-off. Unfortunately, during that brief window, a bird happened to cross the path of the aircraft.

"This was an unfortunate incident. We lost an asset, but thankfully the pilot survived," he said.

Last month, the F/A-18D Hornet crashed shortly after take-off from Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport's runway here during a night training exercise. Both the pilot and the aircraft's weapon systems officer managed to eject safely.